2. Content and Form in Cognition
Usually, in speaking of content and form, we call what is contained inside a thing its content, and its external appearance, its form. The content dealt with in epistemology, however, refers to the attributes of a thing, while the form refers to a certain framework through which those attributes are manifested.
Content of the Object and Content of the Subject
Since the object of cognition is all things, the content of an object refers to the various attributes it possesses, namely, shape, weight, length, motion, color, sound, smell, taste, and so on. These are material content (or Hyungsang content). On the other hand, the subject of cognition is a human being; therefore, the content of the subject refers to the various attributes that a human being possesses, which actually are the same as the attributes of all things, that is, material content, such as, shape, weight, length, motion, color, sound, smell, taste, and so on.
Usually when we talk about human attributes, in many cases we are referring to reason, freedom, spirituality, etc., but in epistemology, since we are dealing with the resemblance in content, we focus on the same attributes as those of the object (all things). As the integration of the universe (microcosm), the human being possesses, in miniature, all the structures, elements, qualities, and so on, that all things possess. Therefore, the human being is equipped with the same attributes as all things.
Give and receive action in cognition, however, does not take place merely because the subject (human being) and the object (all things) possess the same attributes. Since cognition is a phenomenon of thinking, the mind of the subject should also possess a certain content. The content in the mind of the subject is the prototype, or more accurately, that part of the prototype that corresponds to the content. This refers to the “protoimage,” which appears in the protoconsciousness (subconsciousness in the living being, which will be further explained below). The protoimage is a mental image that exists in correspondence with the attributes of the human body. The attributes of the human body are in correspondence with the attributes (material content) of all things in the external world. Therefore, the mental image (protoimage), or prototype, becomes the mental content that corresponds to the attributes of all things. Thus, the attributes of the human body correspond to the attributes of all things, and the mental image (protoimage) of the human mind corresponds to the attributes of the human body. Then, accordingly, the human mental image corresponds to the attributes of all things. Therefore, in cognition, the mental image (protoimage) of the subject (human being) and the material content (sense content) of the object are in correspondence with each other; give and receive action takes place between them, thus giving rise to cognition.
Form of the Object and Form of the Subject
The attributes of all things, which are the object of cognition, always appear in a certain framework. This framework is the form of existence. The form of existence is the form of relation among the attributes of those things. This form of existence, or form of relation, becomes the form of the object in cognition. The human body is a miniature of the universe (microcosm), and the integration of all things; therefore, the human body has the same form of existence as that of all things. The form in cognition is the form within the mind, that is, the form of thought. This is a reflection of the form of existence of the human body in the protoconsciousness, in other words, the image of form (or the image of relation), forming a part of the prototype.
Elements Making Up a Prototype
The mental image within the subject, which becomes the standard of judgment in cognition, is called the prototype. The prototype is made up of the following elements. First, there is the protoimage. This is the image of the attributes of the cells and tissues (elements making up the human body) reflected in the protoconsciousness. In other words, the protoimage is the image of the attributes of the cells and tissues reflected in the “mirror” of the protoconsciousness.
The second element is the image of relation, that is, the form of thought. Not only the attributes of cells and tissues of the human body, but also the form of existence (form of relation) of those attributes are reflected in the protoconsciousness, forming the image of relation. This image of relation gives certain restrictions to the action of thinking, forming the form of thought. The above-mentioned protoimage and image of relation (form of thought) are ideas that have nothing to do with experience, that is, they are a priori ideas; but in prototypes, there are also acquired ideas that are added through our experiences. The ideas obtained through experiences (i.e., prior to the current cognition) are empirical ideas and form a part of the prototypes in subsequent cognition. Therefore, when we encounter things that are similar to what we learned before, we can easily recognize them. Thus, a prototype consists of the protoimage, the image of relation (form of thought) and empirical ideas.
As stated above, a prototype consists of an a priori element, which exists prior to experiences, and an element acquired through experience, namely, the empirical element. The a priori element is the prototype which consists of the protoimage and the image of relation within protoconsciousness. This is an “a priori prototype” that has nothing to do with external experiences. It is also called an “original prototype.” The empirical element refers to the empirical ideas that have been acquired through our daily life experiences, and once they have been acquired they become a part of the prototype. This is called an “empirical prototype.” A prototype which consists of an a priori prototype and an empirical prototype is called a “complex prototype.” As a matter of fact, all the prototypes in our daily life are actually complex prototypes.
Pre-existence of the Prototype, and Its Development
In any instance of cognition, a prototype that has been formed prior to it, namely, a complex prototype, functions as a standard of judgment. This means that, in any cognition, a standard of judgment (a prototype) already exists. Kant maintained that the forms possessed by the subject of cognition are a priori, whereas Unification epistemology asserts the pre-existence of the prototype which is possessed by the subject.
The original prototypes (protoimages and images of relation) with which people are born are imperfect in the case of a newborn baby because the cells, tissues, organs, nerves, sense organs, brain and so on, of the infant, are not well developed yet; therefore, the infant’s cognition can not but be vague. However, as the infant’s body develops and grows, the protoimages and images of relation gradually become clearer and clearer. Furthermore, new ideas acquired through experience are added one by one. In this way, the prototype grows in quality and in quantity, which means that there is an increase in the amount of memory and an increase in new knowledge; namely, the progress of the empirical prototype and the complex prototype.